My generic comment on the CPU is - you either need the horsepower of the i7 for your apps or you don't. If you do, why nerf it with the lower clocked S part? The non-S parts will idle the same and will use similar power up to where the S part clocks. If you need more horsepower than what the S part provides, you have it.

The AR01 will work. Chances are, you'll want to replace the stock fan, and then it becomes a $45 or so solution.

Memory - Crucial Ballistix Sport CAS9 comes up on pcpartpicker a little cheaper than the Adata.

HDD: You won't need speed for the storage drive. The WD Red is a better choice.

1. Are your applications going to massively benefit from hyperthreading? I see you are going to be using virtual machines so the answer could well be yes, but if you don't feel hyperthreading is an advantage (I'm sure you can find benchmarks for virtual machines and hyperthreading somewhere) then an i5 would be a lot cheaper. I agree with the S and T models being somewhat pointless but would add that you can undervolt the standard models to get the same kind of power saving and silence if this is an aim.

2. A 1Tb hard disk isn't much by modern standards and not an order of magnitude more than the 480Gb SSD you're also choosing. What are your plans for using the HDD? Performance and noise will take quite a hit while using it so I would look at whether you can run without it, either by upping your SSD count from the beginning or by accepting that down the line you will add another couple of SSDs. SSDs have far lower power and no real noise so the disadvantages of running a whole bunch of them are far smaller than with hard disks.

CPU - realistically, I do not think I need that much sustained CPU capacity. I speced the i7 for future-proofing. I tend to keep computers for a long time. My thinking on the "S" was to put a cap on the max temperature the system would need to be able to cope with even if it comes at the expense of some horsepower. I would prefer not to fiddle with undervolting the CPU. Does that make sense? Perhaps i5-4570S would be a more sensible choice.

HDD - Actually, I already own it. It is the second HD in my current machine. I use it mostly for 1) virtual machine images and 2) backups of user files from the primary drive. I'll see how it fairs in the new build and perhaps replace it later with SSDs.

I run 4 Windows VM guests under Linux host, with a Phenom II 965BE @4GHz on 16GB memory. I use VMs for testing and only use one VM at a time, if all VMs are busy at once you may want to go with an 8-core cpu.

Every time I run the wizard, it detects a different starting speed. I got several numbers in the range 380-590 RPM. And the latest version of Fan Expert from asus.com does not let me set starting % lower than what the wizard detects. I will roll back to the version from the CD that came with the MB. That version let me set any number I want.

I think the wizard will give highly optimistic starting values (based on what the SPCR Fan review saw for Antec True Quiet 140 vs what I see on my MSI mobo). I bet it doesn't wait for fans to completely stop before applying a new voltage - and it's insanely easier to keep a fan moving than it is to start one from a stopped position. My suggestion is be conservative and use a higher value. Then use a monitoring utility for a few days to make sure they start.

Every time I run the wizard, it detects a different starting speed. I got several numbers in the range 380-590 RPM. And the latest version of Fan Expert from asus.com does not let me set starting % lower than what the wizard detects. I will roll back to the version from the CD that came with the MB. That version let me set any number I want.

What do you think is the safe lowest starting point?

Well for me its always the same as the picture, the lowest it idles is around 470rpms. You can do it with the switch or without, i dont remember atm how is mine or if it changed, but worth a shot to see if it changes. Lower than the % the fan tunning allows the fan should stop in theory, as this is the lowest it can sustain without the fan stopping, this is stablish when it ramps it up to full and then gradually lower them until they stop, then re starts them, this is where fanXpert2 stablishes the starting and the lowest idle rpm or voltages.

I have set the first step to 25%. Seems to be spinning fine at ~330 RPM. Starting does not appear to be an issue as it is spinning full speed during the boot process. So it is not starting from a full stop, but rather slowing down from full speed.

Noob question. Is it OK to leave the fan completely OFF until a certain temperature is reached? What if it is not running for a few months or more. Will it have a harder time spinning up after that? (Like not driving a car for a year - liquids thicken, hoses crack, etc.). Even without the front fan running, CPU temperature appears to be stable under my usage today (under 33C).

Noob question. Is it OK to leave the fan completely OFF until a certain temperature is reached? What if it is not running for a few months or more. Will it have a harder time spinning up after that? (Like not driving a car for a year - liquids thicken, hoses crack, etc.). Even without the front fan running, CPU temperature appears to be stable under my usage today (under 33C).

It should not matter much if the fan is off for long periods. Turning fans off is more of a risk to your RAM and various motherboard peripherals, but long as the case is otherwise well ventilated (or huge) and your threshholds are reasonable (50C? 40C?), it should be fine. The fan bearing may even live longer if you keep the fan off (?).

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